AMA Report: 60% of Physicians in Physician-Owned Groups, 45% in Single Specialty Practice

According to an American Medical Association survey, the percentage of physicians who were practice owners decreased only 8 percentage points from 2007/2008 to 2012.

The report shows hospital employment has increased, but 60 percent of physicians continue to work in practices wholly-owned by physicians.

"To paraphrase Mark Twain, the reports of the death of private practice medicine have been greatly exaggerated," says AMA President Ardis Dee Hoven, MD, in an organization news release. "Needed innovation in payment and delivery reform must recognize the wide range of practice types and sizes that exist today so all physicians can participate in the move to a more patient-centered system that rewards high-quality care and reduces costs."

The report went on to demonstrate that last year 29 percent of physicians reported working directly for a hospital or a practice partially owned by the hospital. Five years earlier, the report found 16.3 percent of physicians worked in one of those settings.

Additionally, the survey reported 18 percent of physicians were in solo practice last year, which was down 6 percentage points over the past five years. Single specialty practices were the most common practice type in 2012, accounting for 45.5 percent of physicians.